! Happiness is cross stitching !

Free love pillow for Paris show and another free pattern!

2012-01-29T13:03:00.000-08:00

Here is the little love pillow pattern from the previous post, I have stitched this for giving away at the Paris embroidery show, the first person to see my badge and identify me can claim this small gift, if no one claims this prize I will offer it up as a freebie when I return.

I will make a small badge with my blog name and wear it on my lapel.

I have also made another freebie for you to stitch, this one is Peace and it matches the Joy pattern I posted at Christmas 2011. So now you have all three patterns , Peace, Joy and Love which is exactly what I wish for all of my readers!

Enjoy stitching them!

Until next time

Happy Stitching!

Free valentine cross stitch patterns, Rosey finished, new stash and Tilda dolls!

2012-01-26T07:04:00.000-08:00

I have bought some new fabric to make this Tilda Doll from the book Tilda's Summer Ideas, this fabric is really pretty, I got it from ebay, it is from the Tilda fabric range. I also bought some other fabric from a website called Crumbly Cottage a UK shop here, they arrived very quickly and Claire the owner placed a free bag of buttons into the parcel, it felt like my birthday, they were such a treat to open!

New design Valentine patterns see below

Stitching news and a free pattern

I have now finished Rosey from Little House Needleworks, I think she is so pretty, the photos are below.

As Valentines day is approaching I decided to make a couple of free patterns for you, the cross stitch freebies are at the bottom of this post.

My trip to Paris

As you know I am off to Paris to the embroidery show and I am thinking of making a small gift for the first person who recognises me. There is only one exception to this, if you have already won one of my giveaways you are not eligible to claim this at the show but you can claim one of my patterns from my Etsy shop, I will be putting the full details on my post on Sunday evening.

I will be wearing a badge with my blog name to make it easy to find me!

Hopefully I will have made the small gift by this Sunday when I will post a picture on my blog, if no one claims it at the show I will offer it as a free gift when I return.

Here are the cross stitch freebies, they make lovely scissor fobs!

I have some new cross stitch patterns for sale in my Etsy shop here including this love birds pattern!

$4.50 about £2.99 after exchange rate calculated

Thankyou to all of you for the lovely comments you send my way, and may I extend a warm welcome to all of my new followers!

Happy stitching!

Cross stitched bag, pinkeep and pillow.

2012-01-21T08:53:00.000-08:00

I decided to make my first drawstring bag and use a cross stitch design that I finished quite some time ago, the Amitie design is a freebie from Martine's blog here

The pinkeep and little pillow I finished for a friend some time ago, you can get the small pillow pattern from my blog here

The free alphabet pattern is available from me via email in my profile.

I show how to fringe the edge in the photographs below.

On reflection I think I should have put the seam down the side, mmmm!

How to fringe the edge

Cut along the fabric edge

Stitch the fabric about 1cm from the edge in a straight line

Pull the threads like this

until you get to the stitching and there you have it, a nice fringed edge!

Happy stitching!

Baking, stitching and off to Paris to L'aiguille en fete show!

2012-01-17T05:06:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, I have not been doing much cross stitching this last month, in fact, I haven't been doing any, however, I have been stitching on a dress that I started last summer and I have also been checking out my Christmas gifts. The first I want to tell you about is this wonderful cake decorating machine that my husband bought me, you can decorate really beautiful cakes with this, very easily! It is the Cricut Cake, it came with a selection of tools and a computer cartridge that fits in the machine, this has all of the designs for you to choose to decorate your fondant icing or you can cut out biscuits in lots of lovely shapes. I am going to be using this over the next few weeks to get used to it and then hopefully I can show you some nice creations I have made.

I love making cupcakes, they are just so pretty with all the new edible cake glitters and decorations that one can purchase, I bought the cupcakes book in the top photograph and made some delicious cupcakes after following their recipes, you can find the book at the link below.

Cupcakes From the Primrose Bakery

You can get the Cricut Cake from Amazon here

Cricut Cake Mini Machine

There are many other cartridges to choose from but this is the one that was included in the package

The next gift I received was from my sister, it is a book by Cath Kidston, I love it because it included a bag that you could make yourself, it is an easy pattern to follow, I am looking forward to stitching this.

The fabric is really pretty and you even get the Cath Kidston label.

Check out the book for yourself here Sew!

Stitching news and my forthcoming trip to Paris!

Below are a couple of photos of the red dress I have been stitching, the first is the pleated sleeve and the next photo shows the ribbon trim that I will be putting on the waist and hem, if you wish to see more progress you can see it on my dressmaking blog here.

I am so excited to be going to the L'aiguille en fete stitching show in Paris in February, I missed the opportunity to go last year but promised myself I would attend in 2012. My husband and I, together with my sister and brother-in-law, will be going to Paris for three nights, the husbands will not be joining us at the show but my sister and I will be enjoying every minute!

Of course, I will be involving my blogging friends in some way, I got this idea off Carol from i stitch blog here thanks Carol, I hope you don't mind me pinching your idea!

How will I involve blogging friends you may ask?

I will be wearing a badge Happiness is Cross Stitching, the first 4 people to recognise me from my picture on this blog or who see my badge and tell me they have read this post will get one of my patterns from my Etsy shop here, sent to them via email, if I have time I may stitch something for each person but I cannot promise, I will let you know the updated details in a post next week.

I am off to Paris on the 8th February and I will be attending the stitching show on the Thursday or the Friday. I am looking forward to meeting any blogging friends that recognise me or see my badge, or, if you would like to arrange to meet me at the show just drop me an email and we can meet up for a coffee and a quick chat about cross stitch!

In my next post I will be giving away a free pattern for Valentine's Day or you can see my Valentines Patterns here in my Etsy shop and I will also be confirming details of catching up with me at the Paris show.

Thankyou for all your comments on my last post and welcome to all of my new followers!

I have had a few problems with emails not getting to the recipients in box, if you have emailed me for anything specific you should have received a reply by now, unless you are a no- reply blogger, in which case I cannot reply to your emails.

My finishes for 2011

2012-01-03T11:35:00.000-08:00

I thought I would show you all of my completed stitching and cross stitch designing for 2011, I had to split it into separate photograph's so that they could be seen more clearly.

And now for my cross stitch patterns that I designed in 2011.

These are the Valentine patterns for February 2012, they are all available in my Etsy shop here or from my blog.

My Christmas designs

Enjoy!

Thankyou for all of your lovely comment's on my last post and welcome to all of my new followers.

Until next time, happy stitching!

Little House Neighbourhood finished and framed and Chocolate Shoppe framed

2011-12-31T08:04:00.000-08:00

Little House Neighbourhood finished

I finally finished Little House Neighbourhood ( English spelling ) for my sister's Christmas gift, however, it was not without it's trials and tribulations! I started stitching this in January 2011 thinking that I would have plenty of time to finish this, I had everything planned and thought it would be an easy task. Now, the pattern is very easy to follow and I had no worries there, however, the time skipped happily by and before I knew it September had come and gone and then I was in the middle of October thinking "Oooooo must finish my sister's cross stitch" but I got busy with other commitments.

Finally I had one week left before Christmas to stitch merrily away on Little House Neighbourhood and then this happened........................

I sprained my thumb by banging it real hard on the door handle! The bruising soon appeared and it was quite painful but all I kept thinking was Christmas Day approaching fast!!!! Aghhh!!!

Panic set in!!!! .lol

I struggled through finally putting the last stitch in thinking " wonderful, it is now finished" and suddenly realised I had stitched it in the wrong colour and forgot to alter the chart for the English spelling of neighbourhood! I knew if I left it with the American spelling everyone would think I had spelt it wrong, so it was much easier to change it.

I then had to unpick all the stitches and start again! I decided it would be best to put it away for a couple of days, trying not to think about Christmas Day getting ever nearer! lol

I finally finished framing and gift wrapping very late on Christmas Eve! lol

I framed it in a Cherry wood frame.

I suppose the moral of the story is.................

If you ever start stitching a piece of cross stitch in January don't presume you will have plenty of time, don't procrastinate because one never knows what may happen! lol

My thumb is much better but it is still quite sore, but at least I got it finished, and, by the way, my sister Ann- Marie loved it!

I framed The Chocolate Shoppe today.

Thankyou for all of your lovely comments on my little red box set in the previous post and welcome to all of my new followers!

Have a wonderful New Year, see you in 2012!

Happy stitching!

Christmas box exchange finally arrived at destination and a free pattern for you.

2011-12-28T12:10:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and are looking forward to the New Year!

I was very pleased to finally hear from the moderator of the Hooked On Exchanging blog that my box had finally arrived at it's destination, I was ever so worried that it had got lost in the post as I sent it on the 1st December.

I painted a little box and hand made some polymer clay roses and a red brooch to go inside the box with some pretty red ribbon. I lined the box with white fabric and edged the inside with red cording.

The cross stitch pattern is my own design and is available at the bottom of this post for you to print.

Other stitching news

I have finished Little House Neighbourhood for my sister's Christmas gift, I shall show pictures in my next post. I am really pleased with the way it turned out, I have framed it in a simple cherry frame and even though I say so myself it really looks lovely.

Hope you have a lovely New Year, until next time,

Happy Stitching!

Christmas Box arrived from Marie

2011-12-14T00:43:00.000-08:00

Look what arrived in the post for me!

This lovely Christmas box arrived from Marie ( blog here ) and I absolutely love it!

Marie very kindly sent me the beautiful box that contained chocolates, a Mill Hill beaded cross stitch kit, some lovely Christmas buttons, ribbons and a small cross stitch chart.

Thankyou so much Marie for this lovely exchange!

The box I sent to my partner has not arrived yet, as soon as it does I will post a picture and a free pattern.

The trim looks ,like snowballs - how cute!

I am looking forward to making something with these cute buttons.

This is the beaded kit that was included.

Thankyou for all of your lovely comments and welcome to all of my new followers.

Happy stitching everyone!

Teatime, snowflake patterns and stitching news

2011-12-06T09:00:00.000-08:00

This is just a quick post to let you know what I have been up to!

It has been a while since I have done any blogging, I just cannot believe how quickly the time goes by! I went to the Knitting and Stitching Show at Harrogate a couple of weeks ago, my sister and I had a fun day out, I bought a quilt kit that included the pattern and the fabric but goodness knows when I will get around to stitching it! lol

I have been doing a bit of designing for my Etsy shop here, my latest are these two tea patterns and the snowflake design, I like these because they are quick stitches and great for a beginner too, I have also designed a larger snowflake pattern that you can see below.

I have not much to show at the moment because I have been working on a box for the Hooked on Exchanging Too blog, I sent that last week, therefore I can only reveal the box once my partner has received the gift. I am looking forward to showing it because I have designed the pattern myself and will be offering it as a freebie in the next post.

Until next time............

here is the larger snowflake design.

Happy stitching everyone, thankyou for all of the lovely comments and a big welcome to all of my new followers.

Scissor fob exchange arrived at destination and more stitching news.

2011-11-08T11:11:00.000-08:00

I have another scissor fob or two to show you, these are my latest stitching addiction!

I made this for Ina in the Hooked on Exchanging blog for the Halloween exchange, I did not include any gifts for this, I usually like to make my extras but I ran out of time, I spent that much time on the stitching on this one that time just flew by and before I knew it the send date had arrived.

It may not look much but there was quite a bit of work in this!

It is a Just Nan pattern from a Halloween issue of Just Cross Stitching magazine from 2009, to be honest I was not too sure if I liked the deisgn or not but at the time I did not have any other appropriate halloween scissor fob patterns.

I have also been stitching a Christmas scissor fob from my Christmas Cat cross stitch design, the photos are below.

I trimmed the tassel with black mill hill beads

I stitched our names on the reverse with a hand made with love tag

And now for the Christmas scissor fob, I hope you are not bored by now!

I designed this Christmas Cat cross stitch pattern for my Etsy store but then decided to design a smaller pattern to make a scissor fob or small pillow.

I trimmed it with mill hill red beads and metallic silver thread

The tassel and cord were made from DMC stranded cotton.

The Christmas Cat pattern is available from my shop blog here or my Etsy store here

included with the pattern is the free scissor fob cross stitch design.

Until next time, happy stitching everyone!

Halloween exchange received from Lisa.

2011-11-02T03:35:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, I have received the halloween exchange from Lisa S, it is a lovely scissor fob with a small pumpkin charm that jingles when you shake it, isn't it cute!

Thankyou so much Lisa for this lovely exchange, I love it!

You can see Lisa's blog here

Halloween Scissor Fob now finished

2011-10-29T11:50:00.000-07:00

Halloween will soon be here so I thought I would show you the scissor fob that I talked about in the previous post, this is the one made from my free pattern here, I only used three colours but I think it looks quite nice. I really enjoyed stitching this, although I have not done much halloween stitching this year I have put pictures in my blog header of the stitching I did last year, one was for an exchange I did and the other was a gift for my sister. I have since been meaning to stitch the Just Nan halloween tin for myself but haven't got around to it just yet, it has been in my craft room since last year in my stash!

Here are some more photo's.

I handmade the tassle out of matching DMC thread, stitched mill hill black beads around the edge and added some beads to the tassle.

Happy Halloween everyone, thanks for the comments and welcome to all of my new followers!

Happy stitching until next time.

Free halloween pattern, work in progress and a new pattern.

2011-10-26T09:57:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, I have plenty of stitching and creativity to show you this week, I have a free pattern for all my readers, progress photo's on Rosie from Little House Needlework and my latest Christmas Cat design to add to my cross stitch pattern collection.

I have been busy with Halloween stitching this week, I have just sent off the Halloween Scissor fob to my partner in the Hooked on Exchanging Halloween exchange, I can't show you that yet until my partner has received it, although I enjoyed stitching the scissor fob so much that I decided to make my halloween cat into a mini freebie to stitch as a scissor fob or mini hanging ornament.

I have completed the pattern in grey colours so that you can see the stitching lines etc but I am stitching mine on black fabric, I have finished stitching the pattern and I am going to trim the edge with black beads.

Here is the pattern, just click on the picture and print.

Here is my scissor fob, I am going to attach a handmade tassle and maybe a bright orange matching cord, hopefully I should have this ready for my next post.

If you wish you can purchase the matching halloween larger pattern on this page here, just scroll down and you will see it there.

Stitching news

Next up is my progress on Rosie, I love the way she is turning out, I can't wait to get this framed.

Last but not least my latest Christmas Cat design available here

Welcome to all of my new followers and thankyou to everyone who has commented, I appreciate all of your comments!

Happy stitching, hope you enjoy the scissor fob freebie!

My first design has been published and my latest felt stitching.

2011-10-16T12:02:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, I was going through some of my photos and saw that I had not published this needlework set I made in August, it is made from blue felt and stitched with spider web roses and mill hill beads, it is one of my own designs.

Here is the inside of the needlebook and the reverse side of the pillow

Stitching news.

I was very excited this week when I visited the local book store, I saw that my first design had been published in this months World Of Cross Stitching Magazine, it was on the front cover! This has been in the planning stage for some months but I did not want to say anything until it actually happened.

Unfortunately, my magazine has not yet arrived in the post, it should be arriving any day now, when it does I can show the magazine on my blog and you can see the Christmas design that I stitched, you will have to buy the magazine though if you wish to stitch the pattern.

I designed and stitched a round Christmas Ornament with swarovski crystals attached.

I am still stitching Rosey Posie from Little House Needleworks, she is looking very cute and I should have a photo for you soon.

Welcome to all of my new followers.

Happy stitching, until next time!

Christmas Owl, Chandelier pattern and winner of my giveaway!

2011-10-05T09:19:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, I have been busy creating some more of my cross stitch designs, my latest one is a cute owl, followed by a shabby chic chandelier. ( Photos below )

But first I am going to announce the winner of my giveaway for the My Memories Suite Software:

The winner is Mouse from Tales of a Stitching Mouse blog here

Congratulations Mouse, please email me and I will send you the details on how to claim your prize!

And now for the patterns I have been busy designing this week.

I love anything shabby chic and wanted to stitch something unique for my craft room, I decided to design this pink chandelier.

I think the pink looks nice stitched on white, black or pale grey, I have chosen to stitch mine on white fabric, I think once this is framed in a shabby chic wood frame it will look perfect on my craft room wall.

My patterns are available here

I have a special opening offer of buy two patterns and get one free

Stitching news

I have signed up for the Halloween exchange and the Christmas Box exchange on the Hooked on Exchanging blog, I need to get thinking about what I will be stitching as it is quite a while since I have signed up for any exchanges.

I have nearly finished Rosey from Little house Needleworks, I should have a progress picture to post next time.

Thankyou for all of your lovely comments and welcome to all of my new followers!

Happy stitching!

My new Christmas design and My Memories Suite giveaway.

2011-09-25T11:22:00.000-07:00

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

Hi everyone, I have recently been stitching some new cross stitch designs, the latest one is my new Christmas design for the Christmas holidays here I have framed the photo of the pattern using the My Memories Suite Digital Software package, I am no expert but I am having lots of fun playing around with the different tools within the programme.

To get an idea about what the software enables you to do just click on the video below and enjoy!

Welcome to the Family! from Lisa Jurrens on Vimeo.

Happy stitching everyone!

My Memories Suite Giveaway!

2011-09-21T14:10:00.000-07:00

~~Hi everyone, I have been asked by My Memories Suite to host a giveaway on my blog,~~ it is not cross stitch but it is something I think you will find interesting!
Have you ever wondered how some blogs have lovely photographs with floral trimmings and ribbons etc and you never understood how they did that? Well I certainly did not understand it, until now that is!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

I designed this picture using the 'digital software programme' from My Memories Suite Version 2 and I think it is kind of cute, don't you? It was very easy to do, I am looking forward to getting more creative with this, I think my next project will be to design a new blog header for my blog, so watch this space!
The cross stitch pattern is one of my new designs from my new set of cross stitch patterns I have been designing for my Etsy store here I am hoping to be showing you some other cute easy cross stitch designs every night this week, and of course I will be using My Memories Suite To show you them to best effect!

This software is a digital software programme that allows you to make lots of pretty papers and decorate your blog with the kits that can be purchased from My Memories Suite (Click link to take you to the page)

I would advise you to check out this video here as it shows you what you can do with My Memories Suite in a little more detail, and there are lots of other videos on the same page to give you lots of ideas to use this 'digital software package'.

I am offering one reader this 'digital scrapbooking softaware' for free, yes free, for you to make your blog look beautiful, as well as making the most beautiful scrapbook pages. Don't be too upset if you don't win first prize because everyone is a winner in this giveaway, all readers of my blog can use the code below to get $10 off the $39.97 price of My Memories Suite software.

Just enter the code below when you add your software package to the basket on their website and you will get $10 deducted off the price.

STMMMS44238

What do you need to do to enter?

Visit My Memories Suite website here and choose your favourite digital package, return to my blog and leave a comment stating which one you have chosen, thats all there is to it!

The giveaway closes on Sunday 2nd October 2011 and I will announce the winner shortly afterwards.

I absolutely love this software package, it is so easy to use and I am looking forward to making my blog look so much prettier! I will be back Sunday evening with another cross stitch pattern and another cute picture using this software.

Good luck everyone!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

Paris giveaway winner and look what arrived for me!!!!!!

2011-09-01T03:15:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, apologies for the delay, someone had hacked into my blog and set a divert to another website, this prevented me from announcing my giveaway winner. Thankfully I managed to fix it quickly after searching in my widgets to see if I could find it, sure enough it was there!

I had to do an awful lot of reading on the internet to find out how to solve the problem.

I have a couple of things to tell you about but first up is the winner of my Paris giveaway, I set up the draw using the old fashioned way of folding up tiny bits of paper everytime I recieved a comment.

The winner is ................................

Lynn from Kearnel's Corner blog here

Congratulations Lynn, you get everyting in the photo below!

Please email me your address details and I will send it to you before the end of next week, however, it could be sooner, depends when I manage to get to the post office.

Thankyou to everyone who entered and a warm welcome to all of my new followers, I did try to reply to everyone, however some of you did not leave me a way to reply to you, but thanks for your lovely comments I really appreciated them all!

My next giveaway!

My next giveaway will be in the middle of September, it will not be stitch related.

I have been asked by My Memories Suite to host a digital scrapbooking software freebie on this site, I have never used it before until now and all I can say is that it is really easy to use and I now know what all those digital scrapbboking folders were for! lol

I will be showing some photo examples and be giving away one of these Digital Software programmes free to one lucky reader of my blog, so keep your eyes open for that!

A gift to myself

Although I love sewing I think sometimes it is nice to have someone else make something for me as a special treat, when I saw this pillow and gift tags (top photo) I decided to do just that!

It arrived a few weeks ago, it was beautifully wrapped and it was like having Christmas in August!

I bought this from a talented blogger who also happens to be called Lynn, she has a beautiful blog at

Teacup Stitches blog here but I bought this from Lynn's Etsy shop here, go check it out, be warned, Lynn sells her pillows fast!

There is a close up photo of the pillow below, check out the lovely diamante heart, it's so cute!

Thankyou Lynn, it was such a treat to receive this in the post, I know I will order from you again soon!

Talking of pillows, I have made this black and white pillow after taking inspiration from Lynn!

This beautiful lady image was printed on cotton fabric and then embroidered with french knots in lilac and pink to give it some colour, I also put a swarovski crystal on each flower in the corner.

That's it for this week, happy stitching everyone, until next time!

My third anniversary giveaway ---- Ooooo La La Paris!

2011-08-07T04:31:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, it was my third anniversary for blogging on the last day of July and here is my giveaway to one lucky winner, I do hope you like it!

This giveaway is now closed!

Designed and created by Lynn B

More photos below.

Included in this giveaway:

A cotton door pillow with a transferred image of a Paris cafe

Measurement 14cm x12m

Two felt strawberry scissor fob pin cushions, one pink and one white

Measurements 3cm across the top and 3.5cm from the top of each strawberry to the bottom.

One felt needlebook - including three polymer clay pins,

two cupcakes and one pink and black teapot.

Needlebook measures 6cm by 7cm when closed and 12cm when fully open

The cross stitch design for the needlebook is available in my freebies on my blog.

One pink and black cupcake brooch.

Measures 5cm x 5cm

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED

You must be a follower to participate - new followers are welcome.

1) Comment on this post and tell me you are a follower.

2) Take the top photo and post about this giveaway on my blog - another point for doing this.

The giveaway closes on Sunday evening the 28th August 2011,

the winner will be announced a few days later.

If you have not had chance to see the winner of my last giveaway for the brooch, please see previous post.

I stitched black ribbon and one bright pink swarovski crystal to the top of the canopy

to give it a three dimensional appearance.

Cupcake needlebook with silver thread stitches on 32 count black linen

Cute cupcake and teapot pins.

The teapot measures 1cm not including spout and handle, 2cm including spout and handle!

Swarovski crystal bead to fasten

Cupcake brooch with swarovski crystal trim and black mill hill beads

Who says that strawberries have to be red!

Pretty ribbon trim

Good luck to everyone!

Happy stitching!

Winner of my giveaway is..............!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-08-06T11:03:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, thankyou for the 171 comments on my brooch giveaway, I really appreciated every single one! I could not respond to everyone because some of your emails are set as no reply, I know I am always saying this but I don't want you to think I was ignoring you!

And now for the moment you have been waiting for ............

the winner is Julie from Julies Knit and sew corner - blog click here

Congratulations Julie you chose the blue one!

It will be in the post as soon as you let me know your address, please email me from my profile!

Please don't be too disappointed if you did not win this time, I have another giveaway ready for my third anniversary of blogging, which was last week sometime, I will put that up, hopefully, tomorrow.

I have one of these small pink brooches left in my Etsy shop here and I have made some larger ones that will be in my shop soon!

Stitching news

I have been stitching things for my Etsy shop recently, one item was this pretty emery filled strawberry with a matching strawberry polymer clay pin, I just so love making these pins!

My latest collection - some of these are included in the next giveaway!

I made this pretty box too for the packaging!

I hope you enjoyed your visit and, as always,

happy stitching!

Pop back tomorrow evening for my next giveaway!

Computer problems!

2011-08-04T13:41:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, sorry for the delay in announcing my giveaway, I have had computer problems, it has been running real slow and I have not been able to leave comments on blogs or post pictures etc. I tried to leave a comment on a giveaway yesterday but my computer just gave up and then I lost patience and closed it down! This is the second time in so many months that I have had to reset the computer to its original settings, if anyone has ever had to do that you will know how time consuming this is!

I am going to have to change my schedule for announcing the giveaway ( I have not drawn the winner yet) it was going to be yesterday ( Wednesday 3rd August ) but now it will have to be the weekend, I will try and do it tomorrow I will see how it goes!

I have finished my third anniversary giveaway, if you check out my Etsy store you will get a hint of what is to come, I have put a cupcake and a teapot in the strawberry listing here,(bottom photo - just click on the photo and it will enlarge) it is those two pins that are included in the giveaway, they are shocking pink and black and white! Remember the other clue - Oo la la and Paris!

I will announce the winner of the brooch giveaway and then a few days later I will post the anniversary gift.

Thankyou so much for all of your lovely comments, they are all appreciated.

Happy Stitching!

The smell of lavender dances around my home!

2011-07-28T13:16:00.000-07:00

Today I took delivery of a some lovely dried lavender buds, I could smell them as the postperson handed them to me, when I opened the box the aroma danced around my house and reminded me of standing in a field in Provence, which is exactly where these lavender buds were grown!

I have always loved the smell of lavender and the little bags that can be made to hang in your bedroom or craft room, so I decided to make this sweet little bag and fill it with these beautiful buds. Each time I passed the needle through the fabric I awoke the scent inside and it was gorgeous. These piilows feel so soft and nice with this filling inside instead of using fibrefill, I can highly recommend using these buds.

I have decided to sell lavender buds in my Etsy store here , I am also hoping to make some more lavender filled pillows and put those in my store too.

32 count murano linen fabric, mill hill beads and DMC threads

I used lightweight iron on interfacing on the reverse side of the linen to give the fabric

some support.

I will be announcing the winner of my brooch giveaway on Monday 1st August 2011 and then a few days later I will publish my third anniversary giveaway, I am hoping you like it as much as I do!

I will give you all a clue:

Ooooo la la and Paris!

Thankyou to everyone who has kindly left me a comment and become a follower, I really appreciate it!

Until next time, happy stitching!

I have been published and Lee's beautiful giveaway has arrived!

2011-07-22T06:48:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, thankyou for all of your lovely comments on my recent giveaway, it seems that you like my felt brooches! I have tried to reply to all comments but some emails are set as 'no reply' which makes it difficult, but just to let you all know I really appreciate your comments. Welcome to all of my new followers!

I have some exciting news, I have been published in The World Of Cross Stitching Magazine for the first time, I was so excited when my monthly magazine dropped through the letterbox! I have known for quite a few months but I wanted to keep it secret until I was published. I am quite shy at showing my photograph but the magazine preferred me to publish a photo of me, so for the first time you all get to know what I look like, lol!!!!!
They have shown photos of some of my recent creations and they very kindly published my blog addresses.

Here is the front cover

and here is the article I contributed to:

The Do's and Dont's of cross stitch.

That's me on the right!

My sister nearly fainted when she saw a photo of me in the magazine, she thought I would not be able to keep it to myself, but this proved I could! lol I did not tell my Mother or my sister as I wanted to surprise them!

Another exciting gift arrived in the post, it was Lee's giveaway, and oh my did this take my breath away, Lee is one very talented lady, thankyou Lee I love it, and I am sure everyone who see's the photo's will too!

These will be treasured always.

Check out Lees blog at

Notes From Under the Mountain Blog here

Beautiful notebook, embroidered bag, beautifully beaded pomegranate and

embroidered heart!

A close up for the detail!

Told you all it was worth the wait!

Stitching news

I have been stitching this felt pincushion that is now for sale on my Etsy store here, it includes the cute little pins too!

I attached a swarovski crystal bead

and a sweet 'made with love' tag on the reverse

There is still time to enter my giveaway here for the small loveheart brooch in the photo.

I am also planning another giveaway which will be posted within a few days of announcing the winner of this one, so there is still another chance to be a winner soon!

Available in my Etsy store here

Thankyou for your comments and happy stitching!

One felt brooch giveaway!

2011-07-15T04:24:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, I have been playing around with felt again and I have created these pretty little brooches and a small hanging pillow, I am going to be putting them on my newly opened Etsy store soon! They are embroidered with spider web roses, seed beads with pretty ribbon bows and blanket stitched around the edge.

I will be making some scissor fobs in the same design too.

The small embroidered love heart brooches measure just under 4cm at the widest part.

My giveaway

I am giving away one of the small loveheart brooches to celebrate that I have over 1300 followers. I was intending to do this in September but changed my mind, so, if you would like to win one of the small love heart shaped embroidered brooches in a choice of pink, blue or purple then please follow the rules below:

The draw will close on 31st July 2011 and the winner will be announced a few days later.

1) Please leave a comment on this post on or before the 31st July and your name will be entered into the giveaway to win one of the small embroidered loveheart brooches. Please state which colour is your preference.

2) If you are a follower or become a follower you will be entered twice, please tell me you are a follower.

3)If you post the top photo on your blog and create a link to this post you will be entered again, but please say you have done this.

There you have it, three chances to win!

More photos below.

My stitching news

I have received the most beautiful giveaway gift from Lee over at Notes from under the Mountain blog, I will be putting that in my next post. When you see it you will be amazed at how absolutely gorgeous Lee's gift is, it is so beautiful that I need to dedicate a post just to Lee's gift. I am currently taking photo's and they will take your breath away!

Thankyou so much Lee for this very special gift, I shall treasure it always!

More photo's of my little brooches and pillows.

Close up detail of spider web roses and seed beads.

Happy stitching until next time!

Little House Needleworks Rosie makes posies progress and my new Etsy store opens soon!

2011-07-10T06:18:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, firstly I would like to welcome my new followers and thank everyone for leaving comments on my blog, it is always appreciated. I am thrilled I have reached over 1300 followers, it is so nice to know you enjoy reading my little piece of the blog world! I considered doing a giveaway to celebrate but I am currently working on my 3rd blog anniversary giveaway for the end of July, however, I will certainly be doing one just to celebrate my followers a little later, maybe sometime in September.

Stitching news
I have started stitching Rosie from Little House Needlework and I have posted more pictures below.
I chose the cream fabric because I did not have any darker coloured fabric in the right thread count and I particularly wanted to stitch this on 32 count. To allow for the fact that I used the cream fabric I had to backstitch the bee and the flowers to make them stand out, but I think it looks ok.

My new Etsy store opened!

I have been considering opening an Etsy store for sometime now, I signed up to Etsy in 2010 but never got the chance to look into it properly and do some research, but now I have finally got around to sorting it out. If you see anything that you particularly like on my blog and would love to see available in my store, I would love to hear your views!

My work in progress on Rosie

Close up of the back stitched bee

Thankyou for your visit, I hope you have a happy stitchy week!